I haven't posted in awhile. QME did decided that my neck injury was work related and not related to MS. Now I have to attend a meeting next week with 4 people from my employer to see if they can accomodate me(probably can't), or let me go. So I feel like I won and then lost. Does anyone know it that means I lose my LTD which I am on now? That's my only source of income.

Thanks, diana

So your wc claim isn't finalized yet, just the QME agreed it was work related.
I think the next step is for them to see if any job can be a fit for you. Some companies will make a job and sometimes they will prefer to cut you loose, but then they risk a larger payout. and possibly an increase in wc ins premiums if too many injuries.

Do you & they have a written document with your drs restrictions for what you can and can't do and how many hrs per day, days per week etc.?

my former employers had a security guard on the night shift that had bad knees and a hip problem, about all he did was answer the phones at the front desk.

If at all possible try to keep your foot in the door so as to keep benefits as long as you can...
but if your claim is accepted now and they can't find a job for you then you should get wc payments.

I don't know about the LTD/wc pay or any offsets - I don't know how that part works.

You will likely continue on LTD as long as you remain disabled. Check with your policy carrier to see if there are limits and what are the triggers for it being discontinued. I had taken out the supplemental LTD when i started my job (you usually pay extra for this coverage -- highly recommend this!) which pays me as long as I am disabled, until age 65. It, however, is offset by SSD. But get out your policy or call. . . .don't wait.

Thanks for the replys. Kind of feels like I'm going before the firing squad(maybe literally!)Anyway, I'll keep you posted.

Thanks, diana

me again...just been thinking about this. Even if they can accomodate me, I don't really want to work for them. They didn't treat me well during the wc process. During my past "light duty", was given tasks that didn't meet the restrictions, I informed HR and the wc doc and wast told just to try, and I did, which made it worse and possibly contributed to the chronic nature of the injury.

The only reason I didn't just quit at the time was because I didn't want to lose my LTD benefits since I have MS(and now maybe Lyme)They wouldn't accomodate when they thought it was the MS, and now will try to because it's more beneficial to their bottom line. Anyone know what happens if I decline whatever position they offer me?, just don't want to be somewhere that I was treated so poorly.

Thanks, Diana

well it's tough call,
but if you have any seniority or length of time there at all - i really suggest staying for any income and the benefits.
Depends on what your making of course a good wage or just minimal..

If you have a complicated health problem and other dx's they probably would rather you quit - makes it easier for them...
keeps their costs lower.

It isn't easy to find jobs now much less when you are in pain, or have a disability.

sometimes they will give cruddy jobs to make you want to quit.
I think you will have more leverage on the wc claim if you can manage to stay.
if you quit on your own they will say you just didn't like working there and the injury claim might have less merit then.

If your restrictions are clear they cannot ask you to do anything beyond those.
If you do uses beyond what the note says they can use that information against you.
Like -{employee did do this - and didn't complain about any pain or problems etc}

I really hope you have an wc atty and your own dr on your side...

your dr and wc atty should be helping get the right restrictions set up.

The wc doc & the HR person are mostly on the side of the employer when it comes down to it.

I had to have my limitations rewritten quite a few times as it was either to restrictive or too undefined and sometimes just had to change to fit my increased symptoms.
At one time I patrolled the parking lot for 2.5 months as security = "no use of upper extremities"
But the silly part was I still had to drive to work and open the doors to get in/out of the building, dress, eat, etc.
per HR lady- I wasn't even supposed to give a little wave to my friends as they left work.. I mean good grief!

But i still did get paid my regular wages & benefits and accrued vacation time.. so I could put up with her illogical ideas about what i could /should do and not do.

Also had a stint as receptionist, office clerking/filing, copying & inputting huge blueprints into the documents system.
But in the end I was "released" from work as they decided they weren't able to fit me in anywhere else until I was recovered.
I recovered to a certain extent so my dr released me back to work with no restrictions at all { a big mistake I thought!} so they sent me back to my regular assembly job, I started hurting after less than a week {repetitive motion injury } .
long story short I stuck it out for 3 more months til they couldn't meet my new added restrictions again.. then I was in limbo until my 12 months of FMLA was used up then they let me go permanently .


My wc atty was not the best, but he did tell me not to quit on my own, let them "quit you".

Thanks for the reply, I do have my primary doc and wc atty, though QME's restrictions were less strict than primary docs. No way am I going to lift 25 pounds(neck injury), not sure where he came up with that number. Sounds like you've been through the wringer too, what happened once they let you go permanently?

Diana

Denial of claim, of course.
We appealed it, it was postponed and rescheduled a couple of times and finally 2 yrs after the date of claim I had my hearing- or was supposed to be - they made an offer to settle right at time of hearing.
so i had atty make a counter offer.
Back and forth a few times until we agreed on the amount-
since I was getting better while not working I accepted it. But that was just best for me , everyone's case is different.

But my atty did tell me it was a possibility of that happening so I had some idea of what amount I might accept.

I would not decline a position with them, but I would absolutely decline anything that is outside of the restrictions. I'd enlist my docs help to get the restrictions as tight as possible........ie, if you need a place to lie down and rest whenever you need to, then they must provide that or admit they cannot find a job that you can do.

You always have the option of quitting, and it is no different when you have an ongoing or concluded w/c claim. In this economy, however, unless there is another job lined up, quitting would likely leave you without any income or insurance coverage, and in many states, no chance of unemployment.

If you feel the restrictions do not accurately reflect what you can do, you can always ask for a Functional Capacity Evaluation. An FCE will put you through several objective lifting, pushing, pulling, etc. exercises to see what you can do. Of course, even then, repetitive work over an 8 hour day is hard to quantify in an FCE.

While my experience was not due to a work injury, following my complete colectomy I attempted a light duty return to work, 4-5 hours a day. Talk about ill treatment . . . at the end of week one, after being off work for over two months, I was called in to the supervisor's office and told my work was deficient and that I had to get all caught up quickly . . . on 4-5 hours a day! I was told what a good job my "cover" did at my desk (I found no evidence at all) and how I was expected to be up to speed soon. It was my mistake for even trying. I was told how my caseload had been reduced (by about 15-20%) even though my hours were reduced by half, and I was expected to keep up. I was given warnings at the end of each week that I was not cutting it. Eventually my surgeon, who wanted me strong for my next surgery, took me completely off work to reduce the horroble stress this was causing me . . . and he was very disappointed that my employer had decided to play so rough with me. I never returned to that employer. . .